Music Streaming Using Supported Services

ABSTRACT

An example technique includes a computing system storing media item identifiers of curated media items associated with one or more service providers. A media curating service aggregates the media item identifiers of curated media items. The example technique further involves receiving, from a media playback system, a first message comprising a service provider access identifier. The service provider access identifier is based on a user account of the media playback system registered to at least one service provider. Based on receiving the first message, the computing system determines media item identifiers of curated media items that are associated with the at least one service provider with which the user account of the media playback system is registered and causes the media playback system to play back the curated media items based on the determined media item identifiers of the curated media items.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §120 to, and is acontinuation of, U.S. non-provisional patent application Ser. No.14/318,148, filed on Jun. 27, 2014, entitled “Music Streaming UsingSupported Services,” which is incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The disclosure is related to consumer goods and, more particularly, tomethods, systems, products, features, services, and other elementsdirected to media playback or some aspect thereof.

BACKGROUND

Options for accessing and listening to digital audio in an out-loudsetting were limited until in 2003, when SONOS, Inc. filed for one ofits first patent applications, entitled “Method for Synchronizing AudioPlayback between Multiple Networked Devices,” and began offering a mediaplayback system for sale in 2005. The Sonos Wireless HiFi System enablespeople to experience music from many sources via one or more networkedplayback devices. Through a software control application installed on asmartphone, tablet, or computer, one can play what he or she wants inany room that has a networked playback device. Additionally, using thecontroller, for example, different songs can be streamed to each roomwith a playback device, rooms can be grouped together for synchronousplayback, or the same song can be heard in all rooms synchronously.

Given the ever growing interest in digital media, there continues to bea need to develop consumer-accessible technologies to further enhancethe listening experience.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Features, aspects, and advantages of the presently disclosed technologymay be better understood with regard to the following description,appended claims, and accompanying drawings where:

FIG. 1 shows an example media playback system configuration in whichcertain embodiments may be practiced;

FIG. 2 shows a functional block diagram of an example playback device;

FIG. 3 shows a functional block diagram of an example control device;

FIG. 4 shows an example controller interface;

FIG. 5 shows example events and example devices;

FIG. 6 shows an example flow diagram for an example method;

FIG. 7 shows an example flow diagram for an example method;

FIG. 8 shows an example flow diagram for an example method; and

FIG. 9 shows an example flow diagram for an example method.

The drawings are for the purpose of illustrating example embodiments,but it is understood that the inventions are not limited to thearrangements and instrumentality shown in the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION I. Overview

Media provision services, (e.g., SPOTIFY®, PANDORA®, RHAPSODY®, BEATS™MUSIC, etc.) may use customized identification systems for identifyingmusic tracks, albums, artists, and other aspects of media items. Forexample, a media provision service may assign one or more media itemidentifiers to a media item. The assigned media item identifiers may bedifferent than media item identifiers assigned to the media item byanother media provision service. For example, a media item identifierassigned to a media item provided by a first service might be“Service1:track:abcdef0123234,” while a media item identifier assignedto the same media item provided by a second service might be“Service2:ft2345049.” The term “media item identifier,” as used herein,is meant to broadly encompass data that identifies or characterizes anyaspect of a media item, including but not limited to track titles,albums, artists, memory locations or addresses, uniform resourceidentifiers (URIs), uniform resource locators (URLs), service providers,or other aspects of a media item.

Accordingly, when a media provision service provides a media itemidentifier to a media playback system, the media playback system canlater request that the media provision service provide the media item byproviding the media item identifier back to the media provision service.

Some services may provide other media related services in addition tomedia provision services. For instance, media curating services curatemedia items aggregated from other services (e.g., media provisionservices). In other words, a media curating service may aggregate mediaitems using media item identifiers unique to the media curating servicebut not actually provide the media items for playback. Of course, amedia provision service may also include media curating services. Forexample, a media curating service (e.g., BLUE NOTE®, SLACKER®, BEATSMUSIC®) may provide curated media by providing media item identifiersassociated with one or more media provision services. In one example, arecord label may curate its own media and provide media item identifiersassociated with one or more media provision services where the recordlabel's media items are available. In the instance where the mediacurating service does not provide access to the actual media item, amedia playback system accessing the media curating service would beunable to access the actual media item directly from the media curatingservice. Rather, the media playback system would use the media itemidentifiers associated media provision services to access the mediaitem.

As such, according to some example implementations described herein, theexample methods, systems, and circuitry may facilitate interactionbetween a media playback system and media services, such as mediacurating services and media provision services, in a more efficientand/or desirable manner.

Accordingly, some examples described herein involve, among other things,sending from a media playback system a first message to a curatingservice. The first message may include an indication of a serviceprovider to which the media playback system has access. The mediaplayback system may receive a second message from the curating servicethat includes a media item identifier. The media playback system maythen send a request that includes the media item identifier to theservice provider. Other aspects of the examples will be made apparent inthe remainder of the description herein.

In one aspect, a non-transitory computer readable memory is provided.The non-transitory computer readable memory has stored thereoninstructions executable by a media playback system configured to performfunctions. The functions include sending a first message to a curatingservice. The first message includes an indication of a service providerto which the media playback system has access. The functions furtherinclude the media playback system receiving a second message from acurating service. The second message may include a media itemidentifier. The functions further include the media playback systemsending a request to the service provider for a media item. The mediaitem may be identified by a media item identifier.

In one aspect, a method is provided. The method involves receiving amessage at a curating service from a media playback system. The messageincludes a service provider access identifier that indicates the mediaplayback system has access to the service provider. Based on the firstmessage, the curating service determines that the service provider hasaccess to media corresponding to a media item identifier. The curatingservice then transmits a message to the media playback system thatincludes the media item identifier.

In another aspect, a non-transitory computer readable memory isprovided. The non-transitory computer readable memory has stored thereoninstructions executable by a computing device to perform functions. Thecomputing device may, for example, be a server device. The functionsinclude receiving a message from a media playback system that indicatesthe media playback system has access to a service provider. Based on themessage, the computing device determines that the service provider hasaccess to media corresponding to a media item identifier. Then, thecomputing device transmits a message to the media playback system thatincludes the media item identifier.

In another aspect, a method is provided. The method involves a mediaplayback system determining one or more service providers are accessibleby the media playback system. The method further involves generating amessage header that includes an identification of the accessible serviceproviders. The method further includes the media playback system sendinga message to a curating service that includes the generated messageheader.

In another aspect, a method is provided. The method involves acontroller application installed on a media playback system storingservice-provider identification data that indicates the media playbacksystem has access to a service provider. The method further involves acurator application installed on the media playback device detecting amedia item. The method further involves the media playback systemdetermines that the media item is available at the service provider. Themethod further involves the media playback system sending a request tothe service provider for the media item, where the media item isidentified by a media item identifier.

In another aspect, a media playback system is provided. The mediaplayback system includes a processor and memory storing instructionsthat when executed by the media playback system, cause the computingdevice to perform functions. The functions include sending from a mediaplayback system a first message to a curating service. The first messagemay include a service provider access identifier that indicates aservice provider to which the media playback system has access. Themedia playback system may receive a second message from the curatingservice that includes a media item identifier. The media playback devicemay then send a request that includes the media item identifier to theservice provider.

In another aspect, a system is provided. The system includes a firstcomputing device and a second computing device. In one example, thecomputing devices are server systems. Each computing device includes aprocessor and memory storing instructions that when executed by thecomputing device, cause the computing device to perform functions. Thefunctions at the first computing device include receiving a firstmessage from a media playback system that includes an indication of aservice provider to which the media playback system has access. Thefunctions at the first computing device further include sending a secondmessage to the media playback system that includes a media itemidentifier. The functions at the second computing device includereceiving a request from the media playback system that includes themedia item identifier.

In another aspect, a non-transitory computer readable memory isprovided. The non-transitory computer readable memory has stored thereoninstructions executable by a computing device to perform functions. Thecomputing device may, for example, be a media playback device. Thefunctions include sending a first message to a curating service thatincludes an indication of a service provider to which the media playbacksystem has access. The functions further include receiving a secondmessage from the curating service that includes a media item identifier.The functions further include sending a request to the service providerfor a media item, where the media item is identified by the media itemidentifier.

In another aspect, a media playback system is provided. The mediaplayback system includes a processor and memory storing instructionsthat when executed by the media playback system cause the media playbacksystem to perform functions. The functions include determining a serviceprovider to which the media playback system has access. The functionsfurther include generating a message header that includes anidentification of the service provider. The functions further includesending a message from the media playback system to a curating servicethat includes the message header.

In another aspect, a media playback system is provided. The mediaplayback system includes a processor and memory storing instructionsthat when executed by the media playback system cause the media playbacksystem to perform functions. The functions include receiving, by acurating application installed on the media playback system, a firstmessage from a second application installed on the media playbacksystem. The first message includes an indication of a service providerto which the media playback system has access. The functions furtherinclude receiving, by the curating application, an input. The inputincludes a media item identifier. The functions further include themedia playback system sending a request for a media item to the serviceprovider.

It will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that thisdisclosure includes numerous other embodiments. While some examplesdescribed herein may refer to functions performed by given actors suchas “users,” “media provision services,” “curating services,” or otherentities, it should be understood that this is for purposes ofexplanation only. The claims should not be interpreted to require actionby any such example actor unless explicitly required by the language ofthe claims themselves.

II. Example Operating Environment

FIG. 1 shows an example configuration of a media playback system 100 inwhich one or more embodiments disclosed herein may be practiced orimplemented. The media playback system 100 as shown is associated withan example home environment having several rooms and spaces, such as forexample, a master bedroom, an office, a dining room, and a living room.As shown in the example of FIG. 1, the media playback system 100includes playback devices 102-124, control devices 126 and 128, and awired or wireless network router 130.

Further discussions relating to the different components of the examplemedia playback system 100 and how the different components may interactto provide a user with a media experience may be found in the followingsections. While discussions herein may generally refer to the examplemedia playback system 100, technologies described herein are not limitedto applications within, among other things, the home environment asshown in FIG. 1. For instance, the technologies described herein may beuseful in environments where multi-zone audio may be desired, such as,for example, a commercial setting like a restaurant, mall or airport, avehicle like a sports utility vehicle (SUV), bus or car, a ship or boat,an airplane, and so on.

a. Example Playback Devices

FIG. 2 shows a functional block diagram of an example playback device200 that may be configured to be one or more of the playback devices102-124 of the media playback system 100 of FIG. 1. The playback device200 may include a processor 202, software components 204, memory 206,audio processing components 208, audio amplifier(s) 210, speaker(s) 212,and a network interface 214 including wireless interface(s) 216 andwired interface(s) 218. In one case, the playback device 200 may notinclude the speaker(s) 212, but rather a speaker interface forconnecting the playback device 200 to external speakers. In anothercase, the playback device 200 may include neither the speaker(s) 212 northe audio amplifier(s) 210, but rather an audio interface for connectingthe playback device 200 to an external audio amplifier or audio-visualreceiver.

In one example, the processor 202 may be a clock-driven computingcomponent configured to process input data according to instructionsstored in the memory 206. The memory 206 may be a tangiblecomputer-readable medium configured to store instructions executable bythe processor 202. For instance, the memory 206 may be data storage thatcan be loaded with one or more of the software components 204 executableby the processor 202 to achieve certain functions. In one example, thefunctions may involve the playback device 200 retrieving audio data froman audio source or another playback device. In another example, thefunctions may involve the playback device 200 sending audio data toanother device or playback device on a network. In yet another example,the functions may involve pairing of the playback device 200 with one ormore playback devices to create a multi-channel audio environment.

Certain functions may involve the playback device 200 synchronizingplayback of audio content with one or more other playback devices.During synchronous playback, a listener will preferably not be able toperceive time-delay differences between playback of the audio content bythe playback device 200 and the one or more other playback devices. U.S.Pat. No. 8,234,395 entitled, “System and method for synchronizingoperations among a plurality of independently clocked digital dataprocessing devices,” which is hereby incorporated by reference, providesin more detail some examples for audio playback synchronization amongplayback devices.

The memory 206 may further be configured to store data associated withthe playback device 200, such as one or more zones and/or zone groupsthe playback device 200 is a part of, audio sources accessible by theplayback device 200, or a playback queue that the playback device 200(or some other playback device) may be associated with. The data may bestored as one or more state variables that are periodically updated andused to describe the state of the playback device 200. The memory 206may also include the data associated with the state of the other devicesof the media system, and shared from time to time among the devices sothat one or more of the devices have the most recent data associatedwith the system. Other embodiments are also possible.

The audio processing components 208 may include one or moredigital-to-analog converters (DAC), an audio preprocessing component, anaudio enhancement component or a digital signal processor (DSP), and soon. In one embodiment, one or more of the audio processing components208 may be a subcomponent of the processor 202. In one example, audiocontent may be processed and/or intentionally altered by the audioprocessing components 208 to produce audio signals. The produced audiosignals may then be provided to the audio amplifier(s) 210 foramplification and playback through speaker(s) 212. Particularly, theaudio amplifier(s) 210 may include devices configured to amplify audiosignals to a level for driving one or more of the speakers 212. Thespeaker(s) 212 may include an individual transducer (e.g., a “driver”)or a complete speaker system involving an enclosure with one or moredrivers. A particular driver of the speaker(s) 212 may include, forexample, a subwoofer (e.g., for low frequencies), a mid-range driver(e.g., for middle frequencies), and/or a tweeter (e.g., for highfrequencies). In some cases, each transducer in the one or more speakers212 may be driven by an individual corresponding audio amplifier of theaudio amplifier(s) 210. In addition to producing analog signals forplayback by the playback device 200, the audio processing components 208may be configured to process audio content to be sent to one or moreother playback devices for playback.

Audio content to be processed and/or played back by the playback device200 may be received from an external source, such as via an audioline-in input connection (e.g., an auto-detecting 3.5 mm audio line-inconnection) or the network interface 214.

The network interface 214 may be configured to facilitate a data flowbetween the playback device 200 and one or more other devices on a datanetwork. As such, the playback device 200 may be configured to receiveaudio content over the data network from one or more other playbackdevices in communication with the playback device 200, network deviceswithin a local area network, or audio content sources over a wide areanetwork such as the Internet. In one example, the audio content andother signals transmitted and received by the playback device 200 may betransmitted in the form of digital packet data containing an InternetProtocol (IP)-based source address and IP-based destination addresses.In such a case, the network interface 214 may be configured to parse thedigital packet data such that the data destined for the playback device200 is properly received and processed by the playback device 200.

As shown, the network interface 214 may include wireless interface(s)216 and wired interface(s) 218. The wireless interface(s) 216 mayprovide network interface functions for the playback device 200 towirelessly communicate with other devices (e.g., other playbackdevice(s), speaker(s), receiver(s), network device(s), control device(s)within a data network the playback device 200 is associated with) inaccordance with a communication protocol (e.g., any wireless standardincluding IEEE 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, 802.11ac, 802.15, 4Gmobile communication standard, and so on). The wired interface(s) 218may provide network interface functions for the playback device 200 tocommunicate over a wired connection with other devices in accordancewith a communication protocol (e.g., IEEE 802.3). While the networkinterface 214 shown in FIG. 2 includes both wireless interface(s) 216and wired interface(s) 218, the network interface 214 may in someembodiments include only wireless interface(s) or only wiredinterface(s).

In one example, the playback device 200 and one other playback devicemay be paired to play two separate audio components of audio content.For instance, playback device 200 may be configured to play a leftchannel audio component, while the other playback device may beconfigured to play a right channel audio component, thereby producing orenhancing a stereo effect of the audio content. The paired playbackdevices (also referred to as “bonded playback devices”) may further playaudio content in synchrony with other playback devices.

In another example, the playback device 200 may be sonicallyconsolidated with one or more other playback devices to form a single,consolidated playback device. A consolidated playback device may beconfigured to process and reproduce sound differently than anunconsolidated playback device or playback devices that are paired,because a consolidated playback device may have additional speakerdrivers through which audio content may be rendered. For instance, ifthe playback device 200 is a playback device designed to render lowfrequency range audio content (i.e. a subwoofer), the playback device200 may be consolidated with a playback device designed to render fullfrequency range audio content. In such a case, the full frequency rangeplayback device, when consolidated with the low frequency playbackdevice 200, may be configured to render only the mid and high frequencycomponents of audio content, while the low frequency range playbackdevice 200 renders the low frequency component of the audio content. Theconsolidated playback device may further be paired with a singleplayback device or yet another consolidated playback device.

By way of illustration, SONOS, Inc. presently offers (or has offered)for sale certain playback devices including a “PLAY:1,” “PLAY:3,”“PLAY:5,” “PLAYBAR,” “CONNECT:AMP,” “CONNECT,” and “SUB.” Any otherpast, present, and/or future playback devices may additionally oralternatively be used to implement the playback devices of exampleembodiments disclosed herein. Additionally, it is understood that aplayback device is not limited to the example illustrated in FIG. 2 orto the SONOS product offerings. For example, a playback device mayinclude a wired or wireless headphone. In another example, a playbackdevice may include or interact with a docking station for personalmobile media playback devices. In yet another example, a playback devicemay be integral to another device or component such as a television, alighting fixture, or some other device for indoor or outdoor use.

b. Example Playback Zone Configurations

Referring back to the media playback system 100 of FIG. 1, theenvironment may have one or more playback zones, each with one or moreplayback devices. The media playback system 100 may be established withone or more playback zones, after which one or more zones may be added,or removed to arrive at the example configuration shown in FIG. 1. Eachzone may be given a name according to a different room or space such asan office, bathroom, master bedroom, bedroom, kitchen, dining room,living room, and/or balcony. In one case, a single playback zone mayinclude multiple rooms or spaces. In another case, a single room orspace may include multiple playback zones.

As shown in FIG. 1, the balcony, dining room, kitchen, bathroom, office,and bedroom zones each have one playback device, while the living roomand master bedroom zones each have multiple playback devices. In theliving room zone, playback devices 104, 106, 108, and 110 may beconfigured to play audio content in synchrony as individual playbackdevices, as one or more bonded playback devices, as one or moreconsolidated playback devices, or any combination thereof. Similarly, inthe case of the master bedroom, playback devices 122 and 124 may beconfigured to play audio content in synchrony as individual playbackdevices, as a bonded playback device, or as a consolidated playbackdevice.

In one example, one or more playback zones in the environment of FIG. 1may each be playing different audio content. For instance, the user maybe grilling in the balcony zone and listening to hip hop music beingplayed by the playback device 102 while another user may be preparingfood in the kitchen zone and listening to classical music being playedby the playback device 114. In another example, a playback zone may playthe same audio content in synchrony with another playback zone. Forinstance, the user may be in the office zone where the playback device118 is playing the same rock music that is being playing by playbackdevice 102 in the balcony zone. In such a case, playback devices 102 and118 may be playing the rock music in synchrony such that the user mayseamlessly (or at least substantially seamlessly) enjoy the audiocontent that is being played out-loud while moving between differentplayback zones. Synchronization among playback zones may be achieved ina manner similar to that of synchronization among playback devices, asdescribed in previously referenced U.S. Pat. No. 8,234,395.

As suggested above, the zone configurations of the media playback system100 may be dynamically modified, and in some embodiments, the mediaplayback system 100 supports numerous configurations. For instance, if auser physically moves one or more playback devices to or from a zone,the media playback system 100 may be reconfigured to accommodate thechange(s). For instance, if the user physically moves the playbackdevice 102 from the balcony zone to the office zone, the office zone maynow include both the playback device 118 and the playback device 102.The playback device 102 may be paired or grouped with the office zoneand/or renamed if so desired via a control device such as the controldevices 126 and 128. On the other hand, if the one or more playbackdevices are moved to a particular area in the home environment that isnot already a playback zone, a new playback zone may be created for theparticular area.

Further, different playback zones of the media playback system 100 maybe dynamically combined into zone groups or split up into individualplayback zones. For instance, the dining room zone and the kitchen zone114 may be combined into a zone group for a dinner party such thatplayback devices 112 and 114 may render audio content in synchrony. Onthe other hand, the living room zone may be split into a television zoneincluding playback device 104, and a listening zone including playbackdevices 106, 108, and 110, if the user wishes to listen to music in theliving room space while another user wishes to watch television.

c. Example Control Devices

FIG. 3 shows a functional block diagram of an example control device 300that may be configured to be one or both of the control devices 126 and128 of the media playback system 100. As shown, the control device 300may include a processor 302, memory 304, a network interface 306, and auser interface 308. In one example, the control device 300 may be adedicated controller for the media playback system 100. In anotherexample, the control device 300 may be a network device on which mediaplayback system controller application software may be installed, suchas for example, an iPhone™ iPad™ or any other smart phone, tablet ornetwork device (e.g., a networked computer such as a PC or Mac™).

The processor 302 may be configured to perform functions relevant tofacilitating user access, control, and configuration of the mediaplayback system 100. The memory 304 may be configured to storeinstructions executable by the processor 302 to perform those functions.The memory 304 may also be configured to store the media playback systemcontroller application software and other data associated with the mediaplayback system 100 and the user.

In one example, the network interface 306 may be based on an industrystandard (e.g., infrared, radio, wired standards including IEEE 802.3,wireless standards including IEEE 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n,802.11ac, 802.15, 4G mobile communication standard, and so on). Thenetwork interface 306 may provide a means for the control device 300 tocommunicate with other devices in the media playback system 100. In oneexample, data and information (e.g., such as a state variable) may becommunicated between control device 300 and other devices via thenetwork interface 306. For instance, playback zone and zone groupconfigurations in the media playback system 100 may be received by thecontrol device 300 from a playback device or another network device, ortransmitted by the control device 300 to another playback device ornetwork device via the network interface 306. In some cases, the othernetwork device may be another control device.

Playback device control commands such as volume control and audioplayback control may also be communicated from the control device 300 toa playback device via the network interface 306. As suggested above,changes to configurations of the media playback system 100 may also beperformed by a user using the control device 300. The configurationchanges may include adding/removing one or more playback devices to/froma zone, adding/removing one or more zones to/from a zone group, forminga bonded or consolidated player, separating one or more playback devicesfrom a bonded or consolidated player, among others. Accordingly, thecontrol device 300 may sometimes be referred to as a controller, whetherthe control device 300 is a dedicated controller or a network device onwhich media playback system controller application software isinstalled.

The user interface 308 of the control device 300 may be configured tofacilitate user access and control of the media playback system 100, byproviding a controller interface such as the controller interface 400shown in FIG. 4. The controller interface 400 includes a playbackcontrol region 410, a playback zone region 420, a playback status region430, a playback queue region 440, and an audio content sources region450. The user interface 400 as shown is just one example of a userinterface that may be provided on a network device such as the controldevice 300 of FIG. 3 (and/or the control devices 126 and 128 of FIG. 1)and accessed by users to control a media playback system such as themedia playback system 100. Other user interfaces of varying formats,styles, and interactive sequences may alternatively be implemented onone or more network devices to provide comparable control access to amedia playback system.

The playback control region 410 may include selectable (e.g., by way oftouch or by using a cursor) icons to cause playback devices in aselected playback zone or zone group to play or pause, fast forward,rewind, skip to next, skip to previous, enter/exit shuffle mode,enter/exit repeat mode, enter/exit cross fade mode. The playback controlregion 410 may also include selectable icons to modify equalizationsettings, and playback volume, among other possibilities.

The playback zone region 420 may include representations of playbackzones within the media playback system 100. In some embodiments, thegraphical representations of playback zones may be selectable to bringup additional selectable icons to manage or configure the playback zonesin the media playback system, such as a creation of bonded zones,creation of zone groups, separation of zone groups, and renaming of zonegroups, among other possibilities.

For example, as shown, a “group” icon may be provided within each of thegraphical representations of playback zones. The “group” icon providedwithin a graphical representation of a particular zone may be selectableto bring up options to select one or more other zones in the mediaplayback system to be grouped with the particular zone. Once grouped,playback devices in the zones that have been grouped with the particularzone will be configured to play audio content in synchrony with theplayback device(s) in the particular zone. Analogously, a “group” iconmay be provided within a graphical representation of a zone group. Inthis case, the “group” icon may be selectable to bring up options todeselect one or more zones in the zone group to be removed from the zonegroup. Other interactions and implementations for grouping andungrouping zones via a user interface such as the user interface 400 arealso possible. The representations of playback zones in the playbackzone region 420 may be dynamically updated as playback zone or zonegroup configurations are modified.

The playback status region 430 may include graphical representations ofaudio content that is presently being played, previously played, orscheduled to play next in the selected playback zone or zone group. Theselected playback zone or zone group may be visually distinguished onthe user interface, such as within the playback zone region 420 and/orthe playback status region 430. The graphical representations mayinclude track title, artist name, album name, album year, track length,and other relevant information that may be useful for the user to knowwhen controlling the media playback system via the user interface 400.

The playback queue region 440 may include graphical representations ofaudio content in a playback queue associated with the selected playbackzone or zone group. In some embodiments, each playback zone or zonegroup may be associated with a playback queue containing informationcorresponding to zero or more audio items for playback by the playbackzone or zone group. For instance, each audio item in the playback queuemay comprise a uniform resource identifier (URI), a uniform resourcelocator (URL) or some other identifier that may be used by a playbackdevice in the playback zone or zone group to find and/or retrieve theaudio item from a local audio content source or a networked audiocontent source, possibly for playback by the playback device.

In one example, a playlist may be added to a playback queue, in whichcase information corresponding to each audio item in the playlist may beadded to the playback queue. In another example, audio items in aplayback queue may be saved as a playlist. In a further example, aplayback queue may be empty, or populated but “not in use” when theplayback zone or zone group is playing continuously streaming audiocontent, such as Internet radio that may continue to play untilotherwise stopped, rather than discrete audio items that have playbackdurations. In an alternative embodiment, a playback queue can includeInternet radio and/or other streaming audio content items and be “inuse” when the playback zone or zone group is playing those items. Otherexamples are also possible.

When playback zones or zone groups are “grouped” or “ungrouped,”playback queues associated with the affected playback zones or zonegroups may be cleared or re-associated. For example, if a first playbackzone including a first playback queue is grouped with a second playbackzone including a second playback queue, the established zone group mayhave an associated playback queue that is initially empty, that containsaudio items from the first playback queue (such as if the secondplayback zone was added to the first playback zone), that contains audioitems from the second playback queue (such as if the first playback zonewas added to the second playback zone), or a combination of audio itemsfrom both the first and second playback queues. Subsequently, if theestablished zone group is ungrouped, the resulting first playback zonemay be re-associated with the previous first playback queue, or beassociated with a new playback queue that is empty or contains audioitems from the playback queue associated with the established zone groupbefore the established zone group was ungrouped. Similarly, theresulting second playback zone may be re-associated with the previoussecond playback queue, or be associated with a new playback queue thatis empty, or contains audio items from the playback queue associatedwith the established zone group before the established zone group wasungrouped. Other examples are also possible.

Referring back to the user interface 400 of FIG. 4, the graphicalrepresentations of audio content in the playback queue region 440 mayinclude track titles, artist names, track lengths, and other relevantinformation associated with the audio content in the playback queue. Inone example, graphical representations of audio content may beselectable to bring up additional selectable icons to manage and/ormanipulate the playback queue and/or audio content represented in theplayback queue. For instance, a represented audio content may be removedfrom the playback queue, moved to a different position within theplayback queue, or selected to be played immediately, or after anycurrently playing audio content, among other possibilities. A playbackqueue associated with a playback zone or zone group may be stored in amemory on one or more playback devices in the playback zone or zonegroup, on a playback device that is not in the playback zone or zonegroup, and/or some other designated device.

The audio content sources region 450 may include graphicalrepresentations of selectable audio content sources from which audiocontent may be retrieved and played by the selected playback zone orzone group. Discussions pertaining to audio content sources may be foundin the following section.

d. Example Audio Content Sources

As indicated previously, one or more playback devices in a zone or zonegroup may be configured to retrieve for playback audio content (e.g.according to a corresponding URI or URL for the audio content) from avariety of available audio content sources. In one example, audiocontent may be retrieved by a playback device directly from acorresponding audio content source (e.g., a line-in connection). Inanother example, audio content may be provided to a playback device overa network via one or more other playback devices or network devices.

Example audio content sources may include a memory of one or moreplayback devices in a media playback system such as the media playbacksystem 100 of FIG. 1, local music libraries on one or more networkdevices (such as a control device, a network-enabled personal computer,or a networked-attached storage (NAS), for example), streaming audioservices (e.g., media provision services) providing audio content viathe Internet (e.g., the cloud), or audio sources connected to the mediaplayback system via a line-in input connection on a playback device ornetwork devise, among other possibilities.

In some embodiments, audio content sources may be regularly added orremoved from a media playback system such as the media playback system100 of FIG. 1. In one example, an indexing of audio items may beperformed whenever one or more audio content sources are added, removedor updated. Indexing of audio items may involve scanning foridentifiable audio items in all folders/directory shared over a networkaccessible by playback devices in the media playback system, andgenerating or updating an audio content database containing metadata(e.g., title, artist, album, track length, among others) and otherassociated information, such as a URI or URL for each identifiable audioitem found. Other examples for managing and maintaining audio contentsources may also be possible, such as curating services.

The above discussions relating to playback devices, controller devices,playback zone configurations, and media content sources provide onlysome examples of operating environments within which functions andmethods described below may be implemented. Other operating environmentsand configurations of media playback systems, playback devices, andnetwork devices not explicitly described herein may also be applicableand suitable for implementation of the functions and methods.

III. Example Methods and Systems

As discussed above, some examples described herein may involve, amongother things, facilitating interactions between a media playback systemand music services such as curating services and media provisionservices.

In this section the term “computing device” may have the same meaning asthe terms “network device” and/or “controller device” used in previoussections, unless it is clear from context that this is not the case. Theterm “server” may also be used interchangeably with the term “serverdevice.” Terminology such as “server,” “server device,” “controller,”“controller device,” “network device,” “media item identifier,” “mediaprovision services,” “curating services,” and “computing device” aregenerally used for explanatory purposes in this disclosure and are notmeant to be limiting. One of skill in the art will recognize that anysuitable computing device may perform various functions disclosed hereinand that the preceding list of terms is non-exhaustive.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example operating environment 500, in accordancewith at least some embodiments disclosed herein. Portions of FIG. 5 arereferenced below with respect to a description of example methods 600,700, 800, and 900, and so a brief overview of FIG. 5 is now provided.Certain aspects of FIG. 5 are discussed further below with respect toexample methods 600, 700, 800, and 900.

FIG. 5 includes a media playback system 100, a playback device 200, acontroller 300, messages 501 and 502, a request 503, a media item 504, acommunication link 505, a curating service 510, curated content 512, andmedia provision services 520A and 520B.

The following description pertaining to FIG. 5 refers to an exampleoperating environment 500, but such an operating environment isdisclosed herein for illustrative purposes only and should not beconstrued as limiting. In other examples, the devices, systems,services, and functions depicted in FIG. 5 may occur or be performed byother devices, systems, services, or functions from those depicted inFIG. 5, or some depicted devices, systems, services or functions may notbe performed or occur at all.

The media playback system 100 may send a message, such as message 501,to a computing device of the curating service 510. For example, message501 may include an indication of a media provision service, such aseither of media provision service 520A or media provision service 520B,to which the media playback system 100 has access. For example, asillustrated in FIG. 5, the media playback system 100 may be associatedwith a user account that is registered with media provision service520B.

The curating service 510 may have access to curated content 512. Thecurated content 512, for example, may reside on a database accessible tothe media curating service 510. The curated content 512 may include oneor more media item identifiers related to various aspects of mediaitems, such as album title, artist name, track title (or number), or alocation where a corresponding media item is stored, or otherinformation associated with a media item. The media item identifier mayidentify one or more aspects of a media item. For example, the mediaitem identifier may identify: a track title, a composer, an album title,a musical genre, a playback duration, a year of release, a performer, aservice provider, a URI, a URL, a storage location, or any other aspectassociated with the media item, among other examples, or any combinationthereof. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 5, the curated content 512contains information related to media items such as the album name,artist name, track name or number, and identifiers associated with mediaprovision services 520A and 520B. For example, the media item may bestored on a server associated with media provision service 520A asdesignated by the identifier “f:1234123”.

A computing device of the curating service 510 may also send a message,such as message 502, to the media playback system 100. For example, thecurating service 510 may determine one or more service specificidentifiers of curated content 512 that correspond to the mediaprovision service to which the media playback device has access.Curating service 510 may then send a message, (illustrated in FIG. 5 asmessage 502) to the media playback system 100. The message 502 mayinclude a media item identifier, such as a track identifier, an albumidentifier, a location identifier, a media provision service identifier,or other information.

The media playback system 100 may send a request to a media provisionservice. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 5, the media playbacksystem 100 may send a request 503 to media provision service 520A. Therequest 503 may include a media item identifier.

The media provision service may provide a media item to the mediaplayback system 100. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 5, the mediaprovision service 520A sends a response 504 that includes a media itembased on the media item identifier provided by request 503.

Curating services and provision services may also communicate with eachother. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 5, media curating service 510and media provision service 520B may communicate with each other throughcommunication link 505. For example, media curating service 510 may havecurated content 512 and may need to verify the location of media itemswithin the curated content 512 at the media provision service 520B. Forexample, media curating service 512 may have access to identifiers ofcurated content 512 such as the song “Stuffy Turkey” by the artistThelonious Sphere Monk. However, media curating service 510 may need toverify whether media provision service 520B has access to Stuffy Turkey.Thus, a media curating service may use communication links, such ascommunication link 505, to communicate with various media provisionservices.

Method 600 shown in FIG. 6 presents an embodiment of a method that canbe implemented within an operating environment involving, for example,the media playback system 100 of FIG. 1, one or more of the playbackdevice 200 of FIG. 2, one or more of the control devices 300 of FIG. 3,and one or more of messages 501 and 502, request 503, media item 504,communication link 505, curating service 510, curated content 512, andmedia provision services 520A and 520B of FIG. 5. Method 600 may includeone or more operations, functions, or actions as illustrated by one ormore of blocks 602-606. Although the blocks are illustrated insequential order, these blocks may also be performed in parallel, and/orin a different order than those described herein. Also, the variousblocks may be combined into fewer blocks, divided into additionalblocks, and/or removed based upon the desired implementation.

In addition, for the method 600 and other processes and methodsdisclosed herein, the flowchart shows functionality and operation of onepossible implementation of present embodiments. In this regard, eachblock may represent a module, a segment, or a portion of program code,which includes one or more instructions executable by a processor forimplementing specific logical functions or steps in the process. Theprogram code may be stored on any type of computer readable medium, forexample, such as a storage device including a disk or hard drive. Thecomputer readable medium may include non-transitory computer readablemedium, for example, such as computer-readable media that stores datafor short periods of time like register memory, processor cache andRandom Access Memory (RAM). The computer readable medium may alsoinclude non-transitory media, such as secondary or persistent long termstorage, like read only memory (ROM), optical or magnetic disks, orcompact-disc read only memory (CD-ROM), for example. The computerreadable media may also be any other volatile or non-volatile storagesystems. The computer readable medium may be considered a computerreadable storage medium, for example, or a tangible storage device. Inaddition, for the method 600 and other processes and methods disclosedherein, each block in FIG. 6 may represent circuitry that is wired toperform the specific logical functions in the process.

At block 602, the method includes sending, by a media playback system, afirst message to a curating service, wherein the first message comprisesa service provider access identifier, wherein the service provideraccess identifier indicates a service provider to which the mediaplayback system has access. As one example, a media playback system 100may send a first message 501 (shown in FIG. 5) to a computing device ofthe curating service 510. The first message may include an indication ofa service provider to which the media playback system 100 has access.For example, the media playback system 100 may have access to mediaprovision service 520A because the media playback system 100 isassociated with a user account of media provision service 520A. . Themedia playback system 100 may also have access to one or more additionalservice providers. As such, the message may include an indication thatthe media playback system 100 has access to those one or more additionalservice providers. The message may also include one or more media itemidentifiers.

In a further aspect, the message from the media playback system may notinclude an indication of an accessible service provider. Rather, themessage may include a media item identifier without reference to anyaccessible service providers. For example, the media playback system maysend a request to the curating service for a song title, a genre, orother media item identifiers.

At block 604, the method includes receiving, by the media playbacksystem from the curating service, a second message, the second messagecomprising a media item identifier. As one example, a media playbacksystem 100 may receive a message 502 from the curating service 510. Themessage 502 may include one or more media item identifiers. The mediaitem identifier may identify one or more aspects of a media item. Forexample, the media item identifier may identify: a track title, acomposer, an album title, a musical genre, a playback duration, a yearof release, a performer, a service provider, a URI, a URL, a storagelocation, or any other aspect associated with the media item, amongother examples, or any combination thereof.

In an example, the media playback system 100 has access to a first mediaprovision service (as indicated from the service provider accessidentifier of block 602). The message 502 may include a media itemidentifier corresponding to that first media provision service.Likewise, the message 502 may include a media item identifiercorresponding to one or more additional service providers if the mediaplayback system 100 has access to one or more additional serviceproviders.

Messages may be organized in some manner. As one example, if the mediaplayback system 100 has access to multiple service providers, themessage 502 may be organized in an order of preference of media itemidentifiers corresponding to service providers. For example, the messagemay be organized such that the service providers are ranked in an orderof preference. The order of preference may be set by a user, set by themedia playback system 100, set by the curating service, set by acombination of these, or by any other method. For example, the user mayprefer a first media provision service, then a second media provision,and not have any further preferences. But that media playback system 100may have a business relationship with a third media provision service.Thus, the media playback system 100 may set the order of preference suchthat the first, then the second, then the third media provision servicesare utilized.

At block 606, the method includes sending, by the media playback systemto the service provider, a request for a media item, wherein the requestcomprises the media item identifier. For example, the media playbacksystem 100 may send a request 503 for a media item to the mediaprovision service 520A. The request 503 may include the media itemidentifier received by the media playback system 100 in block 604. As anexample, the media playback system 100 may send a request 503 to aserver associated with media provision service 520A.

In an example method, the media playback system 100 may include aplayback device 200. Method 600 may further include the media playbacksystem 100 receiving the media item from the server associated with theservice provider and effecting playback of the media item at theplayback device 200.

In another example method, the media playback system 100 may include acontroller 300 and one or more playback devices 200. The controller 300may receive an input, e.g., from a user of the media playback system100, that indicates a media item should be sent to one or more of theone or more playback devices 200. For example, the media playback system100 may send the media item to a stereo pair of playback devices 200 inthe living room.

Method 700 shown in FIG. 7 presents an example method that can beimplemented within an operating environment involving, for example, themedia playback system 100 of FIG. 1, one or more of the playback device200 of FIG. 2, one or more of the control device 300 of FIG. 3, and oneor more of messages 501 and 502, request 503, media item 504,communication link 505, curating service 510, curated content 512, andmedia provision services 520A and 520B of FIG. 5. Method 700 may includeone or more operations, functions, or actions as illustrated by one ormore of blocks 702-706. Although the blocks are illustrated insequential order, these blocks may also be performed in parallel, and/orin a different order than those described herein. Also, the variousblocks may be combined into fewer blocks, divided into additionalblocks, and/or removed based upon the desired implementation.

In addition, for the method 700 and other processes and methodsdisclosed herein, the flowchart shows functionality and operation of onepossible implementation of present embodiments. In this regard, eachblock may represent a module, a segment, or a portion of program code,which includes one or more instructions executable by a processor forimplementing specific logical functions or steps in the process. Theprogram code may be stored on any type of computer readable medium, forexample, such as a storage device including a disk or hard drive. Thecomputer readable medium may include non-transitory computer readablemedium, for example, such as computer-readable media that stores datafor short periods of time like register memory, processor cache andRandom Access Memory (RAM). The computer readable medium may alsoinclude non-transitory media, such as secondary or persistent long termstorage, like read only memory (ROM), optical or magnetic disks,compact-disc read only memory (CD-ROM), for example. The computerreadable media may also be any other volatile or non-volatile storagesystems. The computer readable medium may be considered a computerreadable storage medium, for example, or a tangible storage device. Inaddition, for the method 700 and other processes and methods disclosedherein, each block in FIG. 7 may represent circuitry that is wired toperform the specific logical functions in the process.

At block 702, the method includes receiving, at a curating service froma media playback system, a first message, wherein the first messagecomprises a service provider access identifier, wherein the serviceprovider access identifier indicates the media playback system hasaccess to the service provider. In one example, the curating service 510receives a first message 501 from a media playback system 100. The firstmessage 501 includes an indication that the media playback system 100has access to one or more service providers. For example, the message501 may indicate that the media playback device has access to a serverassociated with a first media provision service 520A and a second mediaprovision service 520B. Additionally or alternatively, the message mayinclude one or more media item identifiers.

At block 704, the method includes, based on the first message,determining, by the curating service, that the service provider hasaccess to media corresponding to a media item identifier. In oneexample, the curating service 510 determines, based on the first message501, that the service provider has access to a media item correspondingto a media item identifier. For example, the curating service 510 mayhave media item identifiers for curated content 512 where the associatedmedia item is available on a server associated with a first mediaprovision service 520A. The curating service 510 may use communicationlink 505 to verify that media provision service 520A has access to themedia item corresponding to a media item identifier.

In another example, the curating service may receive a first messagethat identifies one or more media item identifiers but does not identifyaccessible service providers. For example, the first message may includea song title or a genre. The curating service may then determine one ormore media provision services which have access to the one or more mediaitem identifiers. As described above in reference to FIGS. 5 and 6, anorder of preference may exist for media provision services. For example,the curating service 510 may first determine that a first mediaprovision service 520A has access to a media item associated with thesong title from the first message and may then determine that a secondmedia provision service 520B has access to the media item.

At block 706, the method includes transmitting a second message from thecurating service to the media playback system, wherein the secondmessage comprises the media item identifier. For example, the curatingservice 510 may transmit a message 502 to the media playback system 100.The message 502 may include one or more media item identifiers.

Method 800 shown in FIG. 8 presents an example method that can beimplemented within an operating environment involving, for example, themedia playback system 100 of FIG. 1, one or more of the playback device200 of FIG. 2, one or more of the control device 300 of FIG. 3, and oneor more of messages 501 and 502, request 503, media item 504,communication link 505, curating service 510, curated content 512, andmedia provision services 520A and 520B of FIG. 5. Method 800 may includeone or more operations, functions, or actions as illustrated by one ormore of blocks 802-806. Although the blocks are illustrated insequential order, these blocks may also be performed in parallel, and/orin a different order than those described herein. Also, the variousblocks may be combined into fewer blocks, divided into additionalblocks, and/or removed based upon the desired implementation.

In addition, for the method 800 and other processes and methodsdisclosed herein, the flowchart shows functionality and operation of onepossible implementation of present embodiments. In this regard, eachblock may represent a module, a segment, or a portion of program code,which includes one or more instructions executable by a processor forimplementing specific logical functions or steps in the process. Theprogram code may be stored on any type of computer readable medium, forexample, such as a storage device including a disk or hard drive. Thecomputer readable medium may include non-transitory computer readablemedium, for example, such as computer-readable media that stores datafor short periods of time like register memory, processor cache andRandom Access Memory (RAM). The computer readable medium may alsoinclude non-transitory media, such as secondary or persistent long termstorage, like read only memory (ROM), optical or magnetic disks,compact-disc read only memory (CD-ROM), for example. The computerreadable media may also be any other volatile or non-volatile storagesystems. The computer readable medium may be considered a computerreadable storage medium, for example, or a tangible storage device. Inaddition, for the method 800 and other processes and methods disclosedherein, each block in FIG. 8 may represent circuitry that is wired toperform the specific logical functions in the process.

At block 802, the method includes determining, by a media playbacksystem, one or more service providers accessible by the media playbacksystem. For example, a media playback system 100 may determine one ormore service providers accessible by the media playback system 100 byreference to a database accessible to the media playback system 100. Inanother example, a device, such as controller 300, associated with mediaplayback system 100 may be provided with credentials to access one ormore service providers. In yet another example, the media playbacksystem 100 may communicate with one or more service providers todetermine whether the media playback system 100 has access to the one ormore service providers.

At block 804, the method includes generating a message header, whereinthe message header comprises an identification of the one or moreaccessible service providers. For example, a computing device of themedia playback system 100 may generate a message header. The messageheader may include an identification of the one or more accessibleservice providers determined at block 802.

At block 806, the method includes sending from the media playback systemto a curating service, a first message comprising the generated header.For example, the media playback system 100 may send a first message 501to a curating service 510. The first message 501 may include thegenerated message header from block 804.

In some embodiments, method 800 may include the use of an applicationprogramming interface, or API, on a computing device of the mediaplayback system 100. With some network transactions, the API may includethe message header that tells the curating service 510 which serviceproviders are accessible to the media playback system 100. The messageheader may be, for example, a list of service provider identifications,a list of numeric identifications (such as 3, 6, and 11) stored in atable that correlates the numeric identifications to a service, or alist of more readable names (such as Service Provider 1, ServiceProvider 2, Service Provider 3, etc.). The message header may list theservice providers in an order of preference. The order of preference maybe determined as described above in reference to FIGS. 5, 6, and 7. Theorder of preference may also be determined by the media playback system100 based on user input, user profiles, a list of preferred serviceproviders, or any other means. When the media playback system 100 hasaccess to multiple service providers, the media playback system 100 mayreceive from the curating service one or more media item identifiersfrom each of the service providers in an order of preference.

In some embodiments, the first message 501 may include one or more mediaitem identifiers. The media item identifier may include identificationsof one or more aspects of a media item, such as a track title, acomposer, an album title, a musical genre, a playback duration, a yearof release, a performer, a service provider, a URI, a URL, a storagelocation, or any other aspect associated with the media item, amongother examples, or any combination thereof.

In one example, the method 800 may further include the media playbacksystem 100 receiving a message, such as message 502, from the curatingservice in response to the sent message header from block 806. Themessage may include one or more media item identifiers associated withthe one or more accessible service providers. After the media playbacksystem 100 receives the message from the curating service, the method800 may further include the media playback system 100 sending a request,such as request 503, to the service provider that includes the one ormore media item identifiers. After the media playback system 100 sendsthe request, the method 800 may further include the media playbacksystem 100 receiving one or more media items from the service providerand effecting playback at one or more playback devices, such as playbackdevice 200. In one example, the media playback system 100 may effectplayback at specific playback devices. For example, a user may indicateon a controller 300 to playback the one or more media items obtainedfrom the service provider at a stereo pair of playback devices 300 inthe kitchen.

Method 900 shown in FIG. 9 presents an example method that can beimplemented within an operating environment involving, for example, themedia playback system 100 of FIG. 1, one or more of the playback device200 of FIG. 2, one or more of the control device 300 of FIG. 3, and oneor more of messages 501 and 502, request 503, media item 504,communication link 505, curating service 510, curated content 512, andmedia provision services 520A and 520B of FIG. 5. Method 900 may includeone or more operations, functions, or actions as illustrated by one ormore of blocks 902-908. Although the blocks are illustrated insequential order, these blocks may also be performed in parallel, and/orin a different order than those described herein. Also, the variousblocks may be combined into fewer blocks, divided into additionalblocks, and/or removed based upon the desired implementation.

In addition, for the method 900 and other processes and methodsdisclosed herein, the flowchart shows functionality and operation of onepossible implementation of present embodiments. In this regard, eachblock may represent a module, a segment, or a portion of program code,which includes one or more instructions executable by a processor forimplementing specific logical functions or steps in the process. Theprogram code may be stored on any type of computer readable medium, forexample, such as a storage device including a disk or hard drive. Thecomputer readable medium may include non-transitory computer readablemedium, for example, such as computer-readable media that stores datafor short periods of time like register memory, processor cache andRandom Access Memory (RAM). The computer readable medium may alsoinclude non-transitory media, such as secondary or persistent long termstorage, like read only memory (ROM), optical or magnetic disks,compact-disc read only memory (CD-ROM), for example. The computerreadable media may also be any other volatile or non-volatile storagesystems. The computer readable medium may be considered a computerreadable storage medium, for example, or a tangible storage device. Inaddition, for the method 800 and other processes and methods disclosedherein, each block in FIG. 9 may represent circuitry that is wired toperform the specific logical functions in the process.

At block 902, the method 900 includes storing, by a controllerapplication installed on the media playback system, a service provideraccess identifier, wherein the service provider access identifierindicates the media playback system has access to a service providerserver. For example, at block 902 the media playback system 100 mayexecute code representing a controller application which causes storageof a service provider access identifier on the media playback system100. The service provider access identifier may indicate the mediaplayback system 100 has access to the service provider. In someembodiments, one or more additional service provider access identifiersmay be stored as well.

At block 904 the method 900 includes detecting, by a curator applicationinstalled on the media playback system, an input, wherein the inputindicates a media item identifier. For example, an input may be detectedby a curator application installed on the media playback system 100 thatindicates one or more media item identifiers. For example, a user of themedia playback system 100 may run a curator application and thenindicate he or she would like to hear a certain genre of songs, forexample, by a touch input on a touchscreen device on a controller 300.The media playback system 100 may detect an input based on entered textand a subsequent search, a provided list, a voice command, motiondetection, or other methods.

At block 906, the method 900 includes determining, by the media playbacksystem, that the media item corresponding to the media item identifieris available at the service provider server. The method 900 may furtherinclude determining whether one or more additional media itemscorresponding to one or more media item identifiers are available fromone or more service providers at one or more service provider servers.For example, the media playback system 100 may determine that the mediaitem corresponding to the media item identifier is available at theservice provider by, for example, reference to a database on a server ofthe service provider.

At block 908, the method 900 includes sending, by the media playbacksystem to the service provider server, a request for the media item. Forexample, the media playback system 100 may send a request, such asrequest 503, for the media item to the service provider.

In one example, the method 900 may further include the media playbacksystem 100 receiving one or more media items from the service providerand effecting playback at the one or more playback devices 200. Themedia playback system 100 may also effect playback at specific playbackdevices 200. For example, a user may indicate via a controller 300 toplayback the one or more media items obtained from the service providerat a stereo pair of playback devices (e.g., playback devices 106 and 108in the Living Room of FIG. 1).

In a further embodiment, the media playback system 100 may useapplication launching to facilitate interactions between curatingservices and media provision services. Application launching refers tothe practice of an operating system supporting the ability forapplications to register a URL scheme with the operating system. Afterregistration, the operating system will handle a registered URL byautomatically launching the registered application. For example, a musicservice focused on music criticism and commentary, music news, andartist interview (e.g., Pitchfork® Media) may create an application. Inthis example, the application is a third party application but theapplication does not have to be a third party application. Similar toother curating services, the music service may aggregate and curatecontent and may have access to media item identifiers without havingaccess to the media item itself. The music service could integrate withthe media playback system 100 by launching its application on acomputing device associated with the media playback system 100, such ascontroller 300, using a URL scheme, such as:

“Service1://whats_new?x-callback-url=sonos://play-song&sonosSvcs=ServiceApp1”.

After launching an application, the media playback system 100 maycommunicate with the application that the media playback system hasaccess to one or more accessible service providers. In one example, theapplication may be able to control media playback on the local computingdevice, such as the controller 300. For example, if the controller is asmart phone, the application may be able to effect playback of the mediaitem on the smart phone. In a further example, the application may evenbe able to effect playback at the media playback system 100 on one ormore playback devices, such as playback device 200. For example, theapplication may contain programming that allows it to effect playback atthe media playback system 100 directly from the launched application.

IV. Conclusion

The description above discloses, among other things, various examplesystems, methods, apparatus, and articles of manufacture including,among other components, firmware and/or software executed on hardware.It is understood that such examples are merely illustrative and shouldnot be considered as limiting. For example, it is contemplated that anyor all of the firmware, hardware, and/or software aspects or componentscan be embodied exclusively in hardware, exclusively in software,exclusively in firmware, or in any combination of hardware, software,and/or firmware. Accordingly, the examples provided are not the onlyway(s) to implement such systems, methods, apparatus, and/or articles ofmanufacture.

The specification is presented largely in terms of illustrativeenvironments, systems, procedures, steps, logic blocks, processing, andother symbolic representations that directly or indirectly resemble theoperations of data processing devices coupled to networks. These processdescriptions and representations are typically used by those skilled inthe art to most effectively convey the substance of their work to othersskilled in the art. Numerous specific details are set forth to provide athorough understanding of the present disclosure. However, it isunderstood to those skilled in the art that certain embodiments of thepresent disclosure can be practiced without certain, specific details.In other instances, well known methods, procedures, components, andcircuitry have not been described in detail to avoid unnecessarilyobscuring aspects of the embodiments. Accordingly, the scope of thepresent disclosure is defined by the appended claims rather than theforgoing description of embodiments.

When any of the appended claims are read to cover a purely softwareand/or firmware implementation, at least one of the elements in at leastone example is hereby expressly defined to include a tangible,non-transitory medium such as a memory, DVD, CD, Blu-ray, and so on,storing the software and/or firmware.

I claim:
 1. A computing device of a media curating service comprising:one or more processors; tangible, non-transitory computer-readablememory having stored thereon instructions that, when executed by the oneor more processors, cause the computing device to perform functionscomprising: storing media item identifiers of curated media itemsassociated with one or more service providers, wherein the mediacurating service aggregates the media item identifiers of curated mediaitems, and wherein the curated media items corresponding to the mediaitem identifiers are stored in a service provider server of a givenservice provider; receiving, from a media playback system, a firstmessage comprising a service provider access identifier, wherein theservice provider access identifier is based on a user account of themedia playback system registered to at least one service provider; basedon receiving the first message, determining media item identifiers ofcurated media items that are associated with the at least one serviceprovider with which the user account of the media playback system isregistered; and causing the media playback system to play back thecurated media items based on the determined media item identifiers ofthe curated media items.
 2. The computing device of claim 1, wherein thefirst message further comprises a request for curated media items; andwherein the functions further comprise: prior to determining media itemidentifiers of curated media items, identifying the curated media itemsbased on the request.
 3. The computing device of claim 1, whereincausing the media playback system to play back the curated media itemscomprises: transmitting, to the media playback system, a second messagecomprising the media item identifiers of curated media items associatedwith the at least one service provider with which the user account ofthe media playback system is registered.
 4. The computing device ofclaim 1, wherein the media item identifier of a given curated media itemcomprises a universal resource location of the given curated media itemon the service provider server.
 5. The computing device of claim 1,wherein the first message further comprises a media item identifier, andwherein the functions further comprise: identifying the at least oneservice provider based on the media item identifier.
 6. The computingdevice of claim 1, wherein the first message further comprises a mediaitem identifier, and wherein the functions further comprise: prior todetermining media item identifiers of curated media items, identifyingthe curated media items based on the media item identifier in the firstmessage.
 7. The computing device of claim 1, wherein receiving from amedia playback system, a first message comprises: receiving, from acurator application installed on a control device of the media playbacksystem, the first message.
 8. The computing device of claim 1, whereinthe media item identifiers of curated media items comprise (i) a trackidentifier and (ii) a service provider identifier.
 9. The computingdevice of claim 8, wherein the track identifier and the service provideraccess identifier are associated with at least one service provider. 10.A computing device comprising: one or more processors; tangible,non-transitory computer-readable memory having stored thereoninstructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, causethe computing device to perform functions comprising: receivingindications of: (i) media item identifiers of curated media items for amedia curating service that are associated with at least one serviceprovider with which a user account of a media playback system isregistered, (ii) a request for media items associated with the mediaitem identifiers of curated media items, and (iii) a media playbacksystem; and sending, to the media playback system, the media itemsassociated with the media item identifiers of curated media items thatare associated with the at least one service provider with which theuser account of the media playback system is registered, thereby causingthe media playback system to play back one or more media itemsassociated with the media item identifiers of curated media items. 11.The computing device of claim 10, wherein receiving the indication ofthe media playback system comprises receiving the request for mediaitems from the media playback system.
 12. The computing device of claim10, wherein the functions further comprise: prior to receiving theindications of (i) media item identifiers and (ii) the request for mediaitems associated with the media item identifiers, receiving a requestfor curated content; and in response to the request for curated content,transmitting, to the media curating service, a request for the mediaitem identifiers.
 13. The computing device of claim 10, wherein therequest for curated content comprises a media item identifiercorresponding to a given media item associated with the at least oneservice provider, and wherein the curated media items are determinedbased on the given media item.
 14. The computing device of claim 10,wherein the computing device is a service provider server for the atleast one service provider.
 15. The computing device or claim 10,wherein receiving the indications comprises receiving the indicationsfrom a curator application installed on a control device of the mediaplayback system.
 16. Tangible, non-transitory computer-readable memoryhaving stored thereon instructions that, when executed by one or moreprocessors of a computing device, cause the computing device to performfunctions comprising: receiving indications of: (i) media itemidentifiers of curated media items for a media curating service that areassociated with at least one service provider with which a user accountof a media playback system is registered, (ii) a request for media itemsassociated with the media item identifiers of curated media items, and(iii) a media playback system; and sending to the media playback system,the media items associated with the media item identifiers of curatedmedia items that are associated with the at least one service providerwith which the user account of the media playback system is registered,thereby causing the media playback system to play back one or more mediaitems associated with the media item identifiers of curated media items.17. The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable memory of claim 16,wherein receiving the indication of the media playback system comprisesreceiving the request for media items from the media playback system.18. The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable memory of claim 16,wherein the functions further comprise: prior to receiving theindications of (i) media item identifiers and (ii) the request for mediaitems associated with the media item identifiers, receiving a requestfor curated content; and in response to the request for curated content,transmitting, to the media curating service, a request for the mediaitem identifiers.
 19. The tangible, non-transitory computer-readablememory of claim 16, wherein the request for curated content comprises amedia item identifier corresponding to a given media item associatedwith the at least one service provider, and wherein the curated mediaitems are determined based on the given media item.
 20. The tangible,non-transitory computer-readable memory of claim 16, wherein thecomputing device is a service provider server for the at least oneservice provider.